Yarn substitute for knitting or crocheting activities and the method of making the same



E. B. KNOWLES R K March 4, 1947.

2,416,758 YARN SUBSTITUTE F0 NITTING OR CROCHETING ACTIVITIES AND THEMETHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed NOV. 9, 1945 3mm, Mow/.56

Patented Mar. 4, 1947 1" YARN SUBSTITUTE FOR" KNITTING 0R CROCHETINGACTIVITIES AND THE METHOD or MAKING THE SAME Eileen B. KnowlespForbestown, Calif. Application November 9, 1945 Serial No. 627,556

6 Claims. (Cl. 66202) This invention relates to yarn substitutes forknitting or crocheting activities, and the method of making the same,and has particular relation to a string or strand laden with soft andfine fur fibers of animal source for use as a substitute for yarn in thefashioning of articles by knitting or Crocheting, together with themethod of producing such strand or string.

The principal object of the invention is the production of a strand orstring of this type which,

when; used in fashioning the article as by knitting or Crocheting, isused similar to and as a substitute for the yarn generally employed, andwhich article, when thus fashioned, will present an exposed face offluffy appearance with the face simulating a blanket of fur of anespecially soft and. fiuify type (in practice both of the opposite facesof the article fabric present such appearance), with the articlepresenting characteristics of warmth, washability, and long life, theinvention comprising a strand or string of this type, the method ofproducing the same, and a fabric made therefrom.

To these and other ends, the nature of which will be readily understoodas the. invention is hereinafter set forth, said invention consists in astrand or string of this type and the method of producing the same, allas hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference charactersindicate similar parts in each of the views,

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a length.

of the completed strand Or string.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one form of crocheting stitch usablein producing the strand or string, the View showing a short length ofthe base thread of the strand or string crocheted with the severalformations in very loose form-the view being .purposed to illustrate oneform of crochet stitch which may be employed, the View simplyillustrating one form of stitch development.

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the stitch of Figure 2 in'the tightformwhich is used in producing the strand or string-the view omits thefur content which is incorporated during the production of the stitch.

Figure 4 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a fabric sectionproduced by knitting or crocheting the strand or string of Figure 1, andillustrating some of the characteristics present in a fashioned article.

The strand or string which constitutes the present inventionindicated atl0is formed from a threadcoarse or fin'e -H, and increments; of, softand fine fur fibers indicated, at 12. The thread l0 may be of silk,cotton, rayon, or other fibrous material which is more or lessinelastic; nylon thread may also be used where the article .to beproduced is never subjected to a strain or stress sufficient to developthe inherent stretch characteristic present .in this material; woolthread is unsuitable due to its shrinking possibilities which wouldprevent washingof the article. 1

The fur fibers content is the soft and fine fibers secured from thepelts of certain animals-rabbit doesare a preferred 'source-the fibersbeing removed from the skin of the pelt. Coarse and stiff fiber isunsuitable due to its inability to produce the desired fiufiyblanket-like appearance, the latter presenting the softness of down butis actually of animal fiber; to illustrate somewhat of the animalselection, the hair of the Angora species is more or less objectionabledue to its having some of the characteristicsof wool. The length. of thefur fibers is not great-too*short base by'crocheting, the latterservingto provide certain loop effects through which small increments offur'fibers are passed after which the loops are tightened about themid-zone of the fiber length, to retain the fibers in place Within thestring or strand or the article which may be formed from the latter;hence, no adhesive of any kind is used in the production of the strandor string, the firm binding'of the mid-zone of the fiber increments,coupled with the freedom of the end zones of the fibers to movelaterally, serving to maintain the fibers in position.

In crocheting the thread, the selected stitch used in forming the loopsshould be such as to provide somewhat of a locking action-anillustrative stitch is shown in a loose formationin ,ened after thestitch has left the crocheting needle,- but when tightened by the needleactivities produces the appearance of Figure 3 if thefiber incrementsare not introduced. 7 55., The locking feature of the stitch is more crless essential to prevent change in the dimensions of the loop-if thedimensions of the latter are increased in service, the fur fibers canreadily escape from the loop, and if the dimensions are made smaller'(as by shrinkage of the thread the undesirability of the use of wool orof fur fir bers having characteristics of wool-shrinking of thecross-sectional dimensions of. the-fur fibers could produce a loosenessof the bound libertin crements and thus set up copious shedding;possibilities. i

As is apparent the length bers is not uniform, when taken from thepelts, and this condition is not changed when located Within the strand;each, increment is made upof a promiscuous group or the varied lengthfibers, so 'thatthe projected ends of: thesfibers setup a non-uniformappearance ofzthe ends of the: fiber increments, as indicated in: Figure1.; while. the

strand or string: presents this effect, this condi-- tion becomesunnoticeable when the string. or strand is knitted or crocheted intothe: article; so far as the exposed faces of the article. are.concerned, since the soft and fine. fibers fold over promiscuously' andproduce the blanket-like surfaces of th'e. article. Since; theincrements are formed of'small quantities of the individual iibers, thethickness of: the blanket-like surfaceoi the article is not great, butthe many fibers used in the aggregate, andwhich are uniformlydistributedtby the crocheting of the: strand'pr strin makes it: apparentthat the. article surface will present? the appearance of asolidfur'surface: of very soft characteristic-the. down effect-andth'e'unevenness. of. the fringeof fibers at the edges ofithearticle:will not be. detrimental since they will. give visible'evidence. of thenature of the fur surface, the latter being very fluffy in appear.-ance'.

*The: loop: must be: sufficiently large as; to. readi'ly receive the.fiber increment; but to retain the increment in" its desired position:the loop must be tigl'rl'faboutthe increment; hence the increment shouldbe inserted during the fashioning oi the'loop" which is. to receive. it.If'a loos'echain were provided the increments. then inserted, and

theloopsthen tightened by drawing onthechain, the product would beunstable. since the chain loops'co-uld be drawn out. into the: looseform and release the fibierr increments. Hence the stitch used indeveloping the strand or string should.

include; a locking characteristic which prevents material" change in thedimensions of the loop after-the loop has been completed'and leaves theneedle, since" the latter must provide the tight-. eningc action,

Hence, the fiber increments are fed, in' suitable-manner, into theembryo loop during its "formationf. This can be a hand-or a machineoperation-as can be the Crocheting of the strand or string; in handcrocheting; the fibers may be placed convenient and so arranged as topermit rapid. pick-up of the desired increment,v fed-into the: embryoloop' and the loop tightenedit is possible that the. needle hook can. beemployed to pick-up and feed the increment into the em bryci loopan'dthe latter then be completed about the positioned increment.- Because ofthe varied possibilities as tothe f'or-rn" of the stitch and the ways offeeding the increments no particular showing'in thisrespect is beingmade in thedrawof the individual is fed into the embryo loop formationand the latter is then tightened about the positioned increment, theincrement being held therein by the locking? characteristic of thestitch which preventszthe loop-from being loosened.

Since the chain stitches usable for developing the string or strandgenerally provide for more than a single loop within the stitch, it ispossible to provide variations in the form of the strand or string bylimiting the inserted increment to but a single loop of the stitch or byutilizing' all-oi the loop; the latter will provide a deeper'blanketefiect than the former due to the increase in the number of fiberspresentybut the number ofloops of the stitch used must be suificient toprovide a definite blanketing appearance to the surface of the completedarticle.

The strand or string thus'formed is then used similar to yarn inthefashioning of. the article, as lay-knitting or crocheting, the strandor string thus serving as a substitute for yarn; in other Words,thestrand or string is treated asthough it were a single thread or cordand the knitting or crocheting of the article is carried out on thisbasis, so that, the completed article would have some of. thecharacteristics such as would be produced by' the knitting or crochetingof cord or yarn, but differing as to other characteristics.

For instance, the surfacesv of. theiarticle have asoft, fluiiy,blanketed form and appearance which practically tends to conceal thetextile crocheted thread base, and. giving the appearcharacteristic.that'the fabric produced thereby is of aporous type; thus permittingbreathing through the fabric Without destroying the Warmthcharacteristic.

.The article is Washableandreadily dried, with out shrinkage orstretching to-any material extent-while the strand" or string is itselfpractically inelastic, the article has the ability to adaptitselfto theform of the wearer due to the knitting or crccheting activities used inproducing. the article, doing this Without affecting the normalinelasticity of the strand or string used in the fashioning of thearticle. Flexibility of the article is thus apparent.

Since the practically inflexible strand or string retains its holdingcharacteristics on the fibers Within the loops-thus tending to anchorthe increments-and thewashing'of the article tends to maintain thevitality of the fiber content through the addition of moisture thereto,the article is of long-wearing characteristic; since the fluffy surfaceis due tothe soft and line fiber content, there is no need of' combingthe blanket to preserve the fluffy, down-like effect,

since the strand or string is itself inelastic and non-shrinking, it isapparent that the life of the article will not be affected by shrinkagealthough the article may be subjected to frequent washings.

While I have herein shown and described a strand or string of apreferred type, as well as varied ways for producing the same togetherwith a fabric produced therefrom, it is evident that changes ormodifications thereof may be found desirable or essential in meeting thevarious exigencies of useand the desires of individual users, and Itherefore reserve the right to make any and all such changes therein asmay be found desirable or essential, insofar as the same may fall withinthe scope of the accompanying claims, when broadly construed.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A yarn substitute in the form of a strand or string comprising athread base chocheted to provide a succession of loops, and incrementsof soft and fine fur fibers extending through and anchored by tightenedloops of the crocheted chain.

2. A yarn substitute in the form of a strand or string comprising athread base crocheted to provide a succession of loops, and incrementsof soft and fine fur fibers extending through and anchored by tightenedloops of the crocheted chain with the anchoring provided within the midzone of the length of the increment to thereby provide lengths ofindividual fibers projecting freely from opposite sides of the crochetedbase.

3. A yarn substitute in the form of a strand or string comprising athread base crocheted to provide a succession of loops, and incrementsof soft and fine fur fibers extending through and anchored by tightenedloops of the crocheted chain with the anchoring provided within the midzone of the length of the increment to thereby provide lengths ofindividual fibers projecting freely from opposite sides of the crochetedbase the increment fiber content presenting fibers differing as tolength with each increment including a promiscuous number of the variedlength fibers.

4. In the production of a knitted or crocheted fabric, wherein a yarnsubstitute is adapted for fashioning such fabrics by knitting orcrocheting operations in similitude to the use of yarn thread for suchpurpose, and wherein the yarn substitute is in the form of a fur-ladenstrand or string, the method of producing such strand or string whichconsists in crocheting a textile thread into a strand or stringformation in which the formation includes one or more loops within eachcrocheted stitch, feeding a small increment of soft and fine fur fibersof animal source into a loop during the formation of the stitch topresent the increment ends as projecting beyond and on opposite sides ofthe loop, and tightening the loop about the positioned increment tothereby anchor the increment with such projected increment ends exposedand with the ends of the fibers individual and free.

5. A method as in claim 4 characterized in that the crocheting stitch isformed with embryo increment-receiving loops in relativeloose formationto permit ready insertion of the increment and thereafter tightened incompleting the stitch to tighten the loop into a locked anchoringrelation about a mid-zone of the positioned increment. I

6. A fabric having its opposite faces presenting a soft and fiuffyappearance and feel, said fabric being formed by knitting a fur-ladenstrand or string, such strand or string comprising a thread basecrocheted to provide a succession of loops in chain form and havingincrements of soft and fine fur fibers of animal origin extendingthrough and anchored by tightened loops of the crocheted chain and withthe anchoring provided within the mid-zone of the length of theincrement to thereby provide lengths of individual fibers projectingfreely from opposite sides of the crocheted base. I

EILEEN B. KNOWLES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,119,120 Salzberger Dec. 1, 19141,769,970 Silverman July 8, 1930 2,213,720 Seim Sept. 3, 1940 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 25,821 British 1901

